New York Rangers center Nick Bonino (12) battles with Chicago Blackhawks defenseman Alex Vlasic, right, and center Cole Guttman, left, during the first period of an NHL hockey game in New York, Thursday, Jan. 4, 2024. (AP Photo/Peter K. Afriyie)
The New York Rangers are placing Nick Bonino on waivers Thursday afternoon, the team announced, with the 31 other teams in the NHL having 24 hours to claim him, beginning 2 p.m. ET.
Bonino, 35, signed a one-year, $800,000 deal to join the Rangers this season — the seventh team he’s played with over his 15-year career. As a bottom-six forward who scored more than 20 goals just once in his career, the experiment on Broadway simply did not work out.
In 45 games with the Blueshirts, Bonino recorded just one goal and four assists, which has him on pace to post his worst-ever full season in the NHL.
The two-time Stanley Cup winner was a healthy scratch for the Rangers’ Jan. 20 game against the Kings in Los Angeles, which provided the first inkling that his time in New York was running short.
“We talked this morning. It’s never easy,” Rangers head coach Peter Laviolette said at the time (h/t Mollie Walker, New York Post). “Not a great part of the job, telling good people that care that they’re not part of the 12 tonight. That’s always tough. Decisions have to be made when it comes to the lineup.”
Tyler Pitlick is expected to draw back into the Rangers’ lineup with Bonino now out of the picture. In 29 games this season, he has one goal and two assists.
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